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Steering the Future with an Apple?
Are Tesla Motors & Apple joining forces?
If you’re betting any real money, it’s probably best to keep Benjamin Franklin housed comfortably in your wallet or money clip. The answer appears to be no, according to analysts. Jerry Hirsch of The LA Times cited one specific reason for the unlikely alliance between the tech giant and the electric car company in his article, “Tesla Motors closes at record after Apple merger rumor surfaces.”
Tuesday’s closing stock price left Tesla with a market valuation of $25 billion, about $1.1 million for each of the 22,450 Model S cars it sold last year. The cars sell for $70,000 to $100,000, depending on options.
And that market valuation doesn’t include any premium Apple would have to toss in as part of an acquisition.
“Apple does not have a history of paying massive premiums,” Irwin said.
While this partnership seems like a futuristic dream amongst tech geeks and visionary opportunists, it doesn’t hurt to ponder how this relationship could be translated into a feasible vision…
Cost would undeniably be one of the primary concerns surrounding the design, construction and maintenance of a car that would feature high-quality and cutting-edge components from both Tesla and Apple. These two companies prefer to only the best materials. That’s okay, but there needs to be an outlet for those who don’t live a Hollywood lifestyle.
Speaking of outlets and lifestyle…
One solution (just one) to the cost issue is to require the user of the car to own an iPhone or an iPad (or, for convenience and price, both).
Why?
Imagine a car that is immediately personalized to the driver with the simple plugging-in of your phone and/or tablet? The center console would be partially empty, ready for the driver to insert his or her iPhone and/or iPad in the appropriate spots to function and bring to life the center console/the “heart” of the car. All of the music and preferences would instantly download from the connected phone and/or tablet (if you don’t own either a phone or a tablet, then that could be inserted and preset for your preferences by Tesla’s Apple or whatever name they decide on for their joint venture). The temperature, seat warmers, air conditioning system, etc. would be built in around the vacancy left for the phone and tablet.
Of course, with this being a car, there would be voice-activation control and navigation capability to strongly encourage and help prevent people from scrolling and tapping with their fingers while driving. Still, the usual functions of Apple products would apply with the touch features.
Here’s the catch:
An iPhone and/or iPad must be preset for the car to recognize that specific device(s) with a sign-in requiring a preset finger print scan. There would likely be many more additional safety and identity precautions (passwords, firewall features) and protections, but these are just two necessary starting points.
Plus, like any Apple device, it will charge when it’s plugged in, which resolves the problem of a phone or tablet running out of battery life while driving.
Admittedly, this would certainly accelerate the prospect of cars virtually becoming computers on wheels. Is that good or bad? There are valid points for both.
Regarding the fuel aspect, that is still obviously “TBD.” The assumption is that Tesla and Apple would create an emissions-free, electric battery of some sort. This is where the equation (predictably) gets cloudy and pricey at the inception of development. Plus, there are the questions of testing, safety, performance, infrastructure and so forth.
For right now though, imagine the iPhone and iPad concept.
Talk about each person driving their own iCar/iJimmy/iYour Name…
…Sorry, I Just Zoned-Out for a Minute
The mere passing of time has a funny way of evolving the things in our daily lives. Add in the fact that humans have long proven they will innovate to varying degrees (and yes, I am aware of The Dark Ages) during a certain amount of time. Whether in days, weeks, months, years or decades, familiar things change. Incentives arise. Reality is altered for the future. This can pertain to a myriad of items or even entire environments.
It can also involve stories.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is not a new story by any stretch of the imagination. However, the version known to a particular generation varies. For instance, there are two movies derived from the famous James Thurber short story of 1939 of the same name, one in 1947 and one recently released in 2013.
Same title, different interpretation.
Part of this distinction between the two major motion pictures is due to the year it was produced and the world we lived in and are currently living in at the moment. Another prominent factor is not only the technology available, but also filmmakers trying to define who Walter Mitty would be back then and today. Where would he live? What would he do for a career? What or who does he dream about and why?
Below are two trailers for the two film adaptations of the Thurber classic.
Same character, different time.
Do you know a Walter Mitty? Are you Walter Mitty?
Only time will tell.
FYI: Friday is a pretty good day to find out either way…
P.S. Walter Mitty in 2013 is well-worth daydreaming about in a movie theater for a couple hours.
Don’t Reach for the Horizon…Redefine It
A Departure.
Is this a genuinely fascinating word, term and concept or what? There are not only multiple levels, but infinite levels of departure one can engage in and invest their time, money and breaths. Why are there boundless levels? Because life is limitless, even when impossibility stares us in the face with its inhospitable, starry atmosphere in the space above. If there is a glow, our instincts incredibly (and sometimes dangerously) point us due north, south, east and west to horizons before unexplored or thought unattainable.
The intriguing aspect of a random, mysterious departure is the lack of assurance or guaranteed safety. But, when reflecting on the inexplicable thrills of wild and crazy adventurers of today and of past generations, there in lies the rub. Anybody can walk on the sidewalk adjacent to a busy street. However, only a few will voluntarily walk across a tightrope, high above the circus, one gentle sway away from disaster.
Uncertain reactions are at the heart of the rush. Adrenaline isn’t taught, but felt instinctively.
And whether or not you believe it, true serenity cannot be known until one has felt the stinging sensation of the wisdom that states that, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” You can thank Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for that inspiration.
Astonishingly, we are only bound to our own imaginations. Our pursuits will change, evolve and intensify. Maybe there are too many variables to make a living out of jumping out of a plane and skydiving, but hey…it sure does look like fun (well, only if there is a rocket strapped to your back).
Wonderful is what is discovered internally when such a leap is taken. Whether it is a terrifying jump or a life-altering giant step, the rewards are boundless. It’s almost as if a light’s been turned on that has been dark all these years. Perhaps you never thought you could or should turn it on in the first place.
A capacity of magnificence maximizes adventurism,
Necessary to ourselves is the thrill of that moment, when our hearts are pounding out of our chest. In those seconds when we think we must be in a cartoon with the roadrunner with an actual heart pounding in and out of our chest, there is a surreal sensation. The realization of what the distinction between being alive and living is is clearly defined. The pulse is unmistakable.
Experience, which represents the 3D lens of life, elevates everything around us to another dimension and forces a new outlook on the people, places and things we thought we knew. There is a vividness in this environment that pops and reveals almost unlike any other medium we can imagine. It contains within itself a life of its own, ready to collide with its curious spectators.
We may look to the sky and the stars or to the depths of the oceans or to the road not taken just steps away, but seeing what’s around the corner is difficult to spot unless one is willing to walk, not look.
Live, or die, in relative terms of course. This reference is for the mind, which ultimately determines what gets done and what doesn’t. Even with a harness, would you walk the tightrope on and to the unknown?
For all of us to fully experience the world on our terms that will fill our own oasis of excitement, we must be willing to react and not think for a second. Just for a second. Just once.
A journey is only ambiguous and limiting until you take it and see what your mind and imagination wanted you to see all this time.
In a couple days, don’t forget to thank your wild curiosity. It just may thank you back with something truly unforgettable and even unbelievable…that is until the moment when you can tell everybody one hell of a story.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 